Q: I am 21 years
old and am starting my own homebased business. I'm a college
student, and I work part time. My mother is somewhat skeptical of
me starting my own business. She doesn't understand a lot about
it. I know I can do it, and I'm going to do it. I sometimes
feel discouraged by her, and I don't know how to reassure her
that I can do this. What should I tell her? I think she feels I
should follow the traditional role of working for someone else. I
have never followed the crowd, and I'm very excited about this
business.

A: I think I speak
for everyone reading this column when I say, "I've been
there." The fact is, parents will always think they know
what's best for their children. It's just a fact of life.
And sometimes they're right; sometimes they're wrong. But
hopefully I won't offend anyone by saying that in the end, what
matters most is what you want to do, as long as you're
not dealing drugs or committing some other crime.

That said, there are ways to make your (and your mother's)
life more manageable. Throughout your entrepreneurial career,
should you decide to pursue this route for many years to come,
you're going to come across people who will challenge your
idea, for whatever reason. Sometimes it will be a competitor,
sometimes it will be an investor...and sometimes it will be your
mother. At every turn, you've got to be prepared to handle
criticism with finesse and without getting defensive.

The best way to accomplish this feat is by knowing your business
inside and out. That way, you'll be able to weed out the bad
advice and appreciate the constructive criticism. Yes, sometimes
people will have good advice for you, so you have to know how to
identify when someone's telling you something helpful. Since I
don't know specifically what kind of business you're
starting, I'll just give you some general advice about getting
intimately familiar with your business.

First of all, figure out why you're so resolved that you
"know" you can start this business. It's great that
you've got passion for what you're doing--you'll need
that just as much as you'll need a viable business idea--but
it's not enough just to "know." What proof do you
have that your idea will work? Have you figured out who you're
going to sell your product or service to? And whether they'll
buy your product or service? How much you'll sell it for? How
much of a net profit you can expect? How you'll fund your
business? How you'll keep money coming in--will you keep your
part-time job? It's time to do some research, if you
haven't done so already.

Your local SBA
office or Small Business Development Center are good places to go
if you're feeling overwhelmed by all these questions. SCORE also offers free
e-mail counseling. These organizations can help you develop your
ideas and answer all those questions you need answered.

Chances are, taking the time to do some research will not only
put your mother's mind at ease, but also help you start your
business smarter. As we've seen with the crash of countless
dotcoms, it pays to take your time during the start-up phase--and
often beyond that. Otherwise, you risk losing it all.